Grant Jerrett To Enter Draft
Sources tell Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com that Arizona power forward Grant Jerrett will announce tomorrow that he's entering the NBA draft . The 6'10" freshman, who averaged just 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Wildcats this season, will likely hire agent Brian Dyke of Shibumi Sports, according to Goodman.
The move seems puzzling, especially since Goodman believes Jerrett could have eventually developed into a lottery pick (Twitter link). Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him as the 124th best prospect this year, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who has Jerrett outside of his top 100 list, expressed surprise at the news via Twitter. Multiple NBA executives told Goodman that Jerrett will be taken in the second round or go undrafted.
The timing of the move is also somewhat curious, since Tuesday was the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from draft consideration and retain college eligibility. Of course, signing with an agent, as it appears Jerrett is likely to do, would have precluded a return to college either way.
Pacific Links: Dwight, Lakers, Warriors, Kings
Congratulations to the Lakers, who, after a season of nearly non-stop turmoil, have clinched a playoff spot with the Grizzlies' win over the Jazz tonight. That comes as no surprise to many Hoops Rumors readers, as the Lakers were the top choice when we asked two weeks ago which Western Conference team would grab the final playoff spot in the West. You were also right on about the Jazz, tabbing them in early March as the team most likely to miss the playoffs among a group that also included the Lakers, Warriors and Rockets. Now, as the Lakers attempt to move up to the seventh seed with a win over Houston tonight, here's more on them and a couple of their Pacific Division rivals.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Jim Rome of CBS Radio that he expects to re-sign Dwight Howard, echoing a pair of sources who said the same to Sam Amick of USA Today a few days ago.
- Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld concludes the Lakers can't win a title as constituted this year or next, and lays out three options for the team: a full rebuilding effort, a quick rebuild for next season, and the most likely option, a push for free agents in 2014. Regardless of what happens, re-signing Howard figures to be the first item on their offseason agenda, as Koutroupis writes.
- Dwayne Jones will be with Golden State when the playoffs begin this weekend, but Scott Machado will remain with the Warriors' D-League affiliate for its postseason run, tweets Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Warriors signed deals with both today for the rest of the season.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com figures the NBA's decision to delay a vote until next month on the future of the Kings is a positive for Sacramento, arguing the city will benefit from more time in its tug-of-war with Seattle (Twitter link).
Poll: Which City Deserves The Kings?
The NBA's Board of Governors is meeting this week to debate the future of the Kings, and though no decision is expected until next month, there's a lot riding on the next couple of days, as the league's owners will debate competing bids from Seattle and Sacramento. It doesn't appear that Sacramento's offer is quite as high as Seattle's, after Chris Hansen and company upped the ante by $25MM last week, though that may not be nearly as important as the speed with which each city can construct a new arena.
Hansen's investment group reached an agreement to buy the controlling share of the Kings from the Maloof family in January, so they can argue they were on the sale first. Sacramento can point to the fact that the team's been there since the 1985/86 season, as well as the city's repeated efforts to strike a deal with the Maloofs in the past.
Pundits on both sides of the issue have had their say over the past several months. Now, it's your turn. If you, instead of the NBA's finance and relocation committees, were making a recommendation to the Board of Governors, what would you tell them? Let us know by voting, and feel free to elaborate on your take in the comments.
Which City Deserves The Kings?
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Seattle 63% (449)
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Sacramento 37% (262)
Total votes: 711
Southeast Rumors: Turkoglu, Hawks, Wizards
There's a race to the bottom in the Southeast Division tonight, with the Magic and the Bobcats vying for the greatest number of ping-pong balls in the draft lottery. The Hawks have playoff seeding at stake, but judging by their effort in a loss against the Raptors last night, they may not have any more motivation to win than Orlando and Charlotte do. While we wait to see how it all turns out, here's the latest from around the Southeast:
- Hedo Turkoglu wouldn't be surprised if the Magic waived him this summer to save 50% on his partially guaranteed $12MM contract for next season, as he tells Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida. The 34-year-old wants to keep playing in the NBA, but he can't see himself in the league for longer than another three seasons.
- Multiple veteran unrestricted free agents tell Lang Greene of HoopsWorld they'd consider signing with the Hawks if the team reached out to them. GM Danny Ferry also shares a few thoughts with Greene as Atlanta eyes a summer of ample cap space.
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post looks ahead to the offseason for the Wizards, who won't have much flexibility with $57MM already on the payroll, assuming Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza opt in to the final year of their contracts, as they're likely to do.
Lucas Nogueira To Enter Draft
Brazilian center Lucas Nogueira will enter the NBA draft, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 20-year-old won't be able to withdraw because he submitted his name for entry in 2011 and withdrew it before the deadline that year. He's a "serious" candidate to become a first-round pick, Wojnarowski writes. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress agrees, listing Nogueira at No. 32 in his rankings, though Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him down at No. 69.
There's debate over exactly how tall Nogueira is, as both DraftExpress and ESPN.com list him at 6'11" while Wojnarowski pegs him as a 7-footer. There's variance on his wingspan as well, which is either 7'5" or 7'6", but in any case, that kind of reach makes him an intriguing prospect.
Nogueira saw limited playing time for Asefa Estudiantes of the Spanish ACB league this season, averaging 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 12.6 minutes per game. Still, his athleticism and improvement on offense have him on the radar for NBA clubs, as Wojnarowski notes.
Lakers Sign Andrew Goudelock
7:29pm: The signing is now official, according to Mike Trudell of NBA.com (on Twitter).
7:18pm: The Lakers have not officially completed the paperwork to sign Goudelock and if they can't get his contract finalized in the next half hour, then he won't play tonight, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.
8:05am: The Lakers are expected to sign guard Andrew Goudelock this morning, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last night that the Lakers were "lining up" a deal with Goudelock, their second-round draft pick in 2011. The 24-year-old could be with the team in time for tonight's game against the Spurs, according to Spears. Since the Lakers only have 14 players on their roster, they won't have to waive anyone to bring Goudelock on board.
Goudelock spent the 2011/12 season with the Lakers, appearing in 40 games and averaging 4.4 points and 10.5 minutes per contest, with 37.3% three-point shooting. His contract covered this season as well, but it was non-guaranteed, and L.A. waived him at the end of training camp. He turned to the D-League, and was a hot commodity in the D-League draft, going second overall. Goudelock wound up splitting the season between the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Rio Grande Valley Vipers, notching 21.1 PPG and 5.2 assists per game. His proficient three-point stroke remained, as he shot 36.9% from behind the arc.
The College of Charleston product hasn't spent time on an NBA roster since the Lakers let him go in training camp, so he'll be eligible for the postseason, unlike recently waived wing players like Stephen Jackson and Raja Bell. The Lakers had been looking for a swingman to replace Kobe Bryant, who's out six to nine months with a torn Achilles.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis appears likely to exercise his early-termination option and get out of his $11MM contract with the Bucks for next season, and the GMs who spoke to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times agree he's in line for a paycut. Ellis is the NBA's 11th leading scorer this year at 19.2 points per game and is headed for his third straight finish among the top five in steals per game, but those figures belie his inefficiency and inattentiveness in defense.
The former second-round pick of the Warriors has seen his field goal, three-point and free throw shooting percentages decline in each of the past two seasons. This year, his shooting line is .413/.279/.772, and part of the reason his scoring output is so high is because he's taken the fifth most field goal attempts in the league. He's jacking up 3.9 three-pointers a game this season, far too many for someone who makes less than 30% of them. Observers, including Rob Mahoney of SI.com, have pegged him as a defensive liability during his career in part for his habit of watching the ball when he should be looking at his man. Ellis' defensive win shares leaped to 3.3 this season, a drastic improvement on his previous career high of 1.9, though it's hard to accurately convey defense through statistics.
Woelfel hears Ellis would be "quite receptive" to joining the Grizzlies, though he points to their likely shortage of cap space as reason to doubt that Ellis winds up in Memphis. The Journal Times scribe mentions the Hawks, Suns, Mavs and Timberwolves as teams that figure to be in the market for two-guards in the offseason, noting the connection between Atlanta and Ellis at the trade deadline this year. The Hawks made Ellis their primary target in a proposed Josh Smith trade with the Bucks. I don't think Ellis will be that high on Atlanta GM Danny Ferry's list come the summer, since the Hawks will no doubt go after Dwight Howard and other maximum-salary level talents first.
Ferry and company may view him as a complementary piece and pursue Ellis after they sign another player for the max, a stance that other teams with cap room, like the Suns and Mavs, could take as well. The Mavs and Ellis' teammate Brandon Jennings reportedly have mutual interest, so if Jennings signs in Dallas and the Bucks fail to match, that would probably take the Mavs off the table for Ellis, unless the team is eager to duplicate a backcourt that's proven only mediocre in Milwaukee.
The Timberwolves could have plenty of cap space, too, if Andrei Kirilenko declines his $10.219MM player option and the team allows restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic to depart. If Kirilenko opts in and the team is confident Nikola Pekovic won't see an offer close to the max, the team would have room sign Ellis to fill its longstanding hole at shooting guard with a starting salary in the neighborhood of $10MM. That would be less than Ellis would make next year on his option, but a contract for three or four years could give the 27-year-old much more guaranteed cash in the long run.
Players are often attracted to the offer with the most guaranteed money, with plenty of reason given the fragility of an NBA career. Still, there's no indication that Ellis' value will significantly decline in the next 12 months, so he could probably collect his $11MM option, hit the market in 2014, and see the same offers he'd get this summer. The news that he's likely to turn down the option would seem to indicate Ellis and agent Jeffrey Fried think he can get more than $11MM for next season, though that's just my speculation. If any team makes that kind of offer, it would probably be a club with trouble attracting marquee talent but intent on making a splash with its cap space — perhaps the Suns, Bobcats or Pistons.
Ellis could improve his stock with a few memorable moments against the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. No one expects the Bucks to win, but if his contributions help the Bucks steal a game or two, it could increase his chances of a raise. Either way, I still think a long-term deal with a starting salary of around $10MM is his best bet, especially if he aspires to play for a contending team anytime soon.
Latest On Kings, Sacramento, Seattle
In a few days, the NBA Board of Governors will meet to decide the fate of the Kings, though a decision may not come until a while after the meeting is finished. In the meantime, there's plenty of news as Sacramento and Seattle jockey for position.
- Christine Willmsen and Steve Miletich of The Seattle Times profile Chris Hansen, the lead investor in Seattle's effort to land the Kings. The story mentions Hansen's friendship with Celtics co-owner Irv Grousbeck, and Chris Daniels of KING-TV in Seattle points out that Irv's son, Wyc Grousbeck, sits on the joint committee currently weighing the competing Kings bids (Twitter links).
- If there's a difference in the size of the bids, the league doesn't necessarily have to go with the larger one, sports legal expert Michael McCann tells Times scribe Bob Condotta.
- Still, there's little doubt the Sacramento bidders for the Kings will match Seattle's $25MM addition to its bid, writes Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee, who argues that there's no compelling reason for the league to allow the team to leave a supportive market.
- Commissioner David Stern insists expansion isn't on the table, but it should be, opines Ailene Voisin of The Bee.
Pistons To Part Ways With Joe Dumars?
Sources tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News that Joe Dumars' run as team president will soon come to an end, though Lawrence throws a bit of cold water on his own report, noting the deep connection between Dumars and the team and writing that "we'll believe it when we see it." In any case, it appears the Pistons could be headed for a shakeup, with the Daily News scribe echoing earlier reports that the Pistons are likely to let go of coach Lawrence Frank.
The Pistons head into a critical summer, with only about $29MM in commitments for next season and another lottery pick on the way. The last time Detroit had such ample cap space, in 2009, Dumars signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to long-term deals that became albatrosses for the team. The Pistons traded a first-round draft pick to the Bobcats last summer in part to relieve themselves of the final year of Gordon's deal.
Dumars took over the team's front office in 2000 after a Hall-of-Fame playing career spent exclusively with the Pistons. He won Executive of the Year in 2002/03, but followed it up with his most noteworthy error, drafting Darko Milicic second overall in the 2003 draft, ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and other standouts. Still, the Pistons won the title in 2003/04, and went to the Eastern Conference Finals six seasons in a row before their recent string of playoff misses.
MLive's David Mayo examines the questions facing the franchise, pointing out the arguments both for keeping and getting rid of Dumars and Frank.
Thunder, Bulls, Hawks May Pursue Nolan Smith
The Trail Blazers aren't going to re-sign Nolan Smith, but sources close to the combo guard tell Joe Freeman of The Oregonian that the Bulls, Hawks and Thunder lead a pack of teams that are likely have interest this summer. The Blazers drafted Smith with the 21st overall pick in the 2011 draft, but after his rookie season, they declined the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him an unrestricted free agent at season's end.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks is Smith's godfather, Freeman points out, and Brooks has expressed confidence in Smith's ability to make it as an NBA player, despite the former Duke standout's inability to consistently become a part of Portland's rotation. Still, Oklahoma City seems well-stocked with backup guards, as they have Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb on guaranteed contracts for next season, along with DeAndre Liggins on a non-guaranteed deal. The Thunder will need to either re-sign or replace Kevin Martin, but Smith probably isn't someone they'd want to fill Martin's sixth-man role.
The Bulls and Hawks will probably have more room for Smith, who could have trouble commanding a salary much higher than the minimum. He's averaged just 3.3 points in 9.9 minutes per game for his career, numbers that have dipped to 2.8 PPG and 7.2 MPG this year. A team may be willing to use a portion of its mid-level exception on him, given his potential as a former first-round draft pick and first-team All-American in college, but he can't expect too much of a raise on the $1.366MM he's earning this season.